Christian convert Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh (61) was arrested in June 2016 in a raid on an engagement party held by Christians near the Iranian capital, Tehran.
In May 2017, he was sentenced to ten years in prison for “acting against national security through the formation and establishment of an illegal church organisation in his home”. Naser was admitted to Evin prison in January 2018 to serve his sentence. Four appeals for a retrial were denied and his appeal for parole (for which he should have been eligible once he had served one third of his sentence) was denied five times. Naser was eventually pardoned and released in October 2022.